Shloka 24
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
तत: कर्णो महाराज पाण्डुसैन्यान्यशातयत् । तूलराशिं समासाद्य यथा वायुर्महाबल:
tataḥ karṇo mahārāja pāṇḍusainyānyaśātayat | tūlarāśiṃ samāsādya yathā vāyur mahābalaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da begann Karṇa, o großer König, die Heere der Pāṇḍavas niederzumähen, wie ein gewaltiger Wind, der auf einen Haufen Baumwolle stößt, ihn zerstreut und vernichtet.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force in war can render large formations powerless—like cotton before a gale—inviting reflection on the destructive speed of violence and the grave responsibility borne by warriors and rulers who set such forces in motion.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa is fiercely attacking and decimating the Pāṇḍava forces, using a vivid simile: a powerful wind striking a heap of cotton.